Gold worth Rs 1 crore is missing from the warehouse of a police station in Lakhimpur Kheri. Does an argument like ‘the monkey ran away with the gold’ raise serious questions on the accountability of the police? If the goods kept in the warehouse go missing, then whose responsibility should be fixed?
Lakhimpur Kheri: PoWho would have the courage to enter the Lees station and steal? Nowadays people are asking the same question in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh. The reason is also very surprising. The police themselves have told that gold worth Rs 1 crore kept in the storeroom of the police station is missing. This gold belonged to a woman who had committed suicide. On the orders of the court, it was kept safe in a police station in Lakhimpur Kheri. When the woman’s family asked for the gold back, the police told the court that the gold was missing. Along with this, a strange reason was also given – the gold was taken away by a monkey. The court did not accept this story of the police. After this, the police said in its final report that the two dead police officers were the culprits of this theft.
monkey theft story
This matter is from 2007. After the suicide of a woman, her jewelery worth about Rs 1 crore was kept in the warehouse of Sadar Kotwali police station on the orders of the court. A case of dowry murder was registered against the woman’s husband and his family. The jewelery included a gold bracelet, a chain, a ring and a nose ring. The court itself had given the responsibility of keeping these jewelery safe to the Sadar Kotwali police.
This case continued for 17 years. Ultimately, a local court acquitted all the accused in February 2024 due to lack of evidence. After the acquittal, the husband asked for the return of the jewelery kept in police custody. From here the matter took a turn. The police told the court that the gold was missing.
The police argued in the court that once due to heavy rain, some records of the Malkhana got wet. They were kept on the roof of the police station to dry. Meanwhile, a monkey came, tore the records and ran away with the gold ornaments.
The culprits were two head constables, but they are dead: Police
Obviously, the court did not believe this police story. The court said that rain water cannot have any effect on gold kept in sealed packets. The court also said that prima facie it seems that the in-charge of the Malkhana has tampered with the jewellery. The court expressed suspicion that the government records might have been tampered with by making the evidence disappear.
Along with this, the court ordered registration of a criminal case and investigation on missing gold under Section 69A. After this, the police started the investigation again and told the court that when the gold went missing, two head constables were in charge of the warehouse. Police also said that now both those head constables are dead. Police said that since both died before the investigation could be completed, the investigation could not proceed further. According to the report of Law Beat, the family has now approached the court again. He says that despite the court order, the UP Police has not given him compensation for the missing gold.